Yes those wacky Guardians are back and better than ever!  I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a more entertaining title crawl before!

The movie literally moves at light speed and you’d better be ready to keep up.  Rarely does a moment go by without a quip, a joke, a taunt, an epic space battle, or just something so completely out of the blue that if you weren’t laughing already you will be! (Groot + Popcorn!)

The Guardians are out doing good deeds in the universe.  Taking on challenging jobs others won’t.  Like returning stolen batteries to a race full of shallow, self-righteous, snobs who think they are better than everyone else.  They do a good job at it, until Rocket decides that some of those batteries look kind of cool and surely they won’t miss a few…  For other movies that could be the whole plot, for Guardians that’s just the beginning.

Honestly I thought they’d wait a bit longer before answering the secret to StarLord’s parentage but you kind of feel that was flung at you in haste.  As if the director had been sitting on the secret for so long he was simply bursting to share it with everyone.  Although maybe it’s simply that it was no secret at all and so why bother trying to go all Khan/Star Trek: Into Darkness on your audience.

I can’t think of a single weak link in the cast.  From returning star to guest star to cameo, they are all bigger than life, but never seem to fight for camera space or time.  They are all believable in the universe that has been built for them.

Although Dave Bautista as Drax has surprisingly taken the lead as one of my favorites, simply because he seems to have no filter at all on his reactions to any given situation, my favorite new character is definitely Mantis!  In her innocence she shows us all how a word with typical negative connotations loses it’s power when it is accepted with a laugh and a grin.

While the overall tone of the movie is fun and enjoyable there are definitely several moments that will pull at your heart strings.  Those moments, like leaves in a swiftly moving river, add a moment of pause, depth and contemplation to the surface sheen.  I’m not afraid to admit the ending made me cry.

I’m sure most of the world has been to see this movie at this point and doesn’t need a spoiler free review, but if you are one of the few who hasn’t this review is for you.  Make sure you grab the chance to see it while it is still in theaters!  There are some movies that are simply meant to be viewed on an enormous screen and with the larger than life action and characters, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is definitely one of them!